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SRI LANKA, FEBRUARY 03 :
IN an unexpected move, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) raised key policy rates – the repo (borrowing) and the reverse repo (lending) rate by 50 basis points to 7.5 percent and 9 percent respectively.

In addition, the Monetary Board has imposed limits on credit growth for commercial banks – 18 percent for banks funding loans with domestic deposits and 23 percent for banks that can finance the extra 5 percent from overseas.

This is the first policy action in over a year (rates have been untouched since they were last cut in January11) and is contrary to our expectation of rates being on hold until 1H12, and then being reduced. CBSL is expected to adopt a wait- and- watch policy, with trends in credit growth and foreign inflows being closely monitored.

The credit growth is trending at 34.5 percent y-o-y , significantly higher than the CBSL's target of 16 percent . This is largely due to higher import-related credit (up 34 percent over 2011 driven by motor-vehicles/consumer durables and credit tothe government/public enterprises, particularly due to a higher oil import bill and an incomplete pass-through to domestic oil prices.

A key contributor to high credit growth has been imports. Imports were up 53 percent during January November '11 and far outpaced export growth (+22 percent ), with the trade deficit doubling to US$8.8 billion . Together with continued FX intervention (the CBSL sold dollars to the tune of US$1.8 billion from January -October 11 to defend the currency); this has resulted in FX reserves dwindling to US$5.9 billion in Deember -11 from a peak of US$8.1 billion in August-11.

Moreover, at Citi's Annual Fixed Income Conference in Hong Kong, CBSL authorities stated that the ongoing IMF loan may not be taken to completion (disbursements of ~US$700 million are still pending).

These factors are expected to result in only a marginal accretion to FX reserves (to US$6.6 billion in 2012E), although the CBSL has set ambitious targets for foreign inflows
this year (at US$25 billion).

Although inflation has been posting a steady moderation, to 3.8 percent in January 12 from a peak of 8.8 percent in Aprtl 11, the CBSL has expressed concern that non-food inflation remains sticky (+7.4 percent in January).

Post today's unexpected move, we now expect rates to stay on hold for the rest of 2012. However, trends in private sector credit growth and foreign inflows (including FDI, remittances, tourism, etc ) would likely be closely monitored and play an important role in framing monetary policy decisions.

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 02 :
PUNJAB National Bank (PNB) has decided to revise interest rates on Foreign Currency Non- Resident (FCNR) Deposits Scheme from February 01 , 2012 .

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 31 :
STATE-OWNED Punjab National Bank's (PNB) third quarter (October-December) in fiscal 2011-12 (Q3FY12) net profit recorded growth of 5.5 percent year-on-year to reach Rs 1,150 crore as compared to a profit of Rs 1090 crore in Q3 FY'11.
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The net interest income (NII) or the difference between interests earned and paid out rose more than 10 percent y-o-y to Rs 3,537 crore.

The total loan book expanded by nearly 19 percent to Rs 2.63 lakh crore. Retail loans grew 20 percent y-o-y to Rs 26,000 crore.

Sequentially, the gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio increased from 2.05 percent to 2.42 percent percent while the net NPA ratio too rose from 0.84 percent to 1.11 percent quarter-on-quarter.

In the third quarter, the bank's provisions against bad loans climbed more than 32 percent to Rs 946 crore as compared with Rs 714 crore a year back.

The bank's total deposits increased more than 23 percent y-o-y to Rs 3.57 lakh crore while the current account and savings account (CASA) deposits crawled up 12 percent to Rs 1.26 lakh crore. The share of CASA to total deposits contracted from 37.1 percent to 36.2 percent sequentially.

Obviously, the bank continued to focus on term deposits offering higher rate of interests.
The bank's net interest income (NII) for 9 months in the fiscal 2011-12 crossed Rs10,000 crore- mark to reach Rs 10,105 crore. Net profit from core operations grew at 19.2 percent .

CASA deposits to total domestic deposits of the bank was at 36.2 percent . The bank's Earnings per Share (EPS) increased to Rs 145.62 (annualized).

The bank's net profit for nine months ended December in the fiscal 2011-12 (9M FY'12) amounted to Rs 3460 crore as compared to Rs 3233 crore last year, registering a y-o-y growth of 7.0 percent .

Net profit from core operations (excluding treasury operations and depreciation) witnessed an increase of 19.2 percent to reach Rs 3709 crore for 9M FY'12 from Rs.3111 crore in December'10. The bank's net profit from core operations for Q3 FY'12 rose by 15.2 per cent to reach Rs1205 crore from Rs 1047 crore in December'10.

The operating profit grew by 17.3 percent to reach Rs 7678 crore in 9M FY'12 as compared to Rs.6548 crore as in 9M FY'11. The core operating profit excluding trading profit rose by 18.9 percent to Rs 7490 crore for 9M FY'12 from Rs 6302 crore for the same period last year.

Operating profit for Q3 FY'12 stood at Rs 2676 crore as against Rs.2350 crore in Q3 FY'11, registering a y-o-y growth of 13.9 percent . The bank's total business crossed Rs 6,00,000 crore milestone to reach Rs 6,19,122 crore, recording a y--o-y growth of 21.4 percent over Rs.5,10,125 crore in December'10.

The bank's total income in Q3 FY'12 rose by 30.8 percent to Rs 10435 crore on a healthy growth of 33.2 percent in interest income. Total income in 9M FY'12 increased to Rs 29675 crore, recording a growth of 34.8 percent on account of 36.8 percent growth in Interest Income.

The bank's gross NPA ratio stood at 2.42 percent as at December'11 whereas net NPA ratio was 1.11 percent . Earnings Per Share (annualized) was Rs 145.20 for the Q3 FY'12 against Rs 138.25 last year (9 months ended December'11: Rs 145.62 against Rs.136.70 in previous period)

The bank's Book Value per Share (annualized) improved to Rs 741.83 in December '11 as against Rs 617.28 in December'10.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 :
AS part of Coporate Social Reponsibility ( CSR ) and taking a step forward in strengthening bank's ties with the society, the Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab National Bank , Mr K R Kamath alongwith both the Executive Directors, Mr Rakesh Sethi and Mrs Usha Ananthasubramanian, presented a cheque for Rs 3 lakh to the President of India Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi for helping Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh (Indian Leprosy Association).

Mrs Pushpa Kamath, president of PNB Prerna , an association of the wives of the senior management that takes up CSR activities, was also present on this auspicious occasion.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 :
THE net profit of Allahabad Bank soared to Rs 560.43 crore for the third quarter ended December'11 (Q3 FY2011-12) as against Rs 415.80 crore in the corresponding period last year, recording a growth of 34.78 percent .

The bank's operating profit as at December'11 quarter- end rose to Rs 1029.96 crore as against Rs 788.43 crore last year, registering a growth of 30.63 percent in the period.

Net interest income in Q-3-FY2011-12 surged to Rs 1380.50 crore as against Rs 1051.63 crore last year, showing a y-o-y growth of 31.27 percent .

Non-Interest Income in the third quarter of 2011-12 was Rs 348.41crore as against Rs 257.64 crore previous year , registering a y-o-y growth of 35.23 percent.

Gross NPA to gross advances capped at 1.86 percent as at the December-end, 2011.

Net NPA to net advances ratio of the bank stood at 0.79 percent as at the quarter ended December, 2011.

Net Interest Margin (NIM) increased to 3.73 percent at the end of the December, 2011 quarter as against 3.44 percent last year.

The bank's operating profit in the 9-month period ended December , 2011 surged to Rs 2868.87crore as at December,2011 as against Rs 2274.54 crore last year, showing a y-o-y growth of 26.13 percent .

Net profit rose to Rs 1466.57 crore in the 9-month period ended DEcember 31, 2011 as against Rs 1165.51 crore last year, showing a y-o-y growth of 25.83 percent.

Net Interest Margin (NIM) increased to 3.60 percent in the 9 months ended December,11 as against 3.34 percent last year.

Net Interest Income during the Nine Months since April, 2011 stood at Rs 3874.28 crore as against Rs 2871.17 crore last year, recording a y-o-y growth of 34.94 percent .

Non-Interest Income in the 9 Months ended December, 11 rose to Rs 943.54 crore as against Rs 900.94 crore previous year.

Total business of the bank increased at Rs 2,46,939 crore as on DEcember 31 , 2011 as against Rs 2,07,785 crore in previous year, showing a y-o-y growth of 18.84 percent .

Deposits of the bank went up to Rs 1,45,300 crore as on December 31,2011 from Rs 1,20,948 crore as on December 31,2010. Year-on-Year basis, total deposits grew by 20.13 percent ( Rs 1,31,887 crore as on December 31 , 2011).

Net NPA to Net Advances Ratio stood at 0.79 percent as at December, 2011 (0.79 % as at March 2011). The bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio registered at 12.75 percent as on December 31, 2011.

Return on Assets as at the end of Nine Months in December, 11 rose to 1.26 percent as against 1.24 peecent last year.

The bank's Earnings Per Share (EPS) surged to Rs 30.80 in ng the Nine Months ended December,11 from Rs 26.09 corresponding last year. Book Value per Share increased to Rs 210.12 during the Nine Months ended Dec, 2011 from Rs 177.16 as on December 31 , 2010.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 25 :
PUNJAB National Bank (PNB) has been awarded with the "Golden Peacock National Training Award" 2011. This is for the second time in succession that the bank has been conferred upon this honour.

On behalf of the bank, the Award was received by Mrs Sushma Bali, General Manager (HRDD and Training), Punjab National Bank and Mr V K Dhawan, Asstt. General Manager, Punjab National Bank, from Corporate Affairs Minister, Dr M Veerappa Moily recently at 22nd World Congress on Total Quality organised by Institute of Directors in Bangalore.

The assessment of the performance for the award was made on the basis training initiatives taken by the bank in the year and innovative methods being applied for updating the skills and knowledge level of the employees.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 23 :
PUNJAB National Bank (PNB) celebrated its 100 years of presence in the Eastern India in Kolkata on Sunday at ITC Sonar, Kolkata. On this occasion, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Union Finance Minister, congratulated Mr K R Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director, Punjab National Bank and entire PNB family on this historic occasion.

He also inaugurated the 250th branch of PNB in the state of west Bengal. Mr Rakesh Sethi, Executive Director of the bank was also present on the occasion.

PNB made its first foray into the Eastern part of India in Kolkata in 1912 with opening of a branch at Commercial House Canning Street now known as BRBB Road Branch.

The Finance Minister said that PNB was a Swadeshi Bank. He informed although PNB was a member of Clearing House of Lahore, it was denied permission into the clearing house of Kolkatta.

PNB fought for its dignity and finally won the case and British lobby of banks and businessmen had to concede. Mr Mukherjee praised the spirit, courage and conviction of the bank in overcoming obstacles in the past while extending its presence into Kolkata, he informed.
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He informed that PNB is the largest nationalised bank of India with a business of over Rs 6 lakh crore, and more than 5400 branches and has made good progress in leveraging IT.

He also remarked that the government is committed to keep all the PSBs adequately capitalized at par with their global peers.

According to him, the major challenges for nationalised banks lie in sustaining this performance in an increasingly competitive environment and making this growth inclusive.

He informed that the government . has launched the 'Swabhiman Scheme' for holistic financial inclusion. He also talked about 'Swavalamban Scheme' for contributory voluntary pension scheme in this context. He mentioned about govt.'s initiative to evolve a system of direct transfer of subsidies to the targeted beneficiaries using 'AADHAR' linked bank accounts.

Mr Kamath informed that in the Eastern part of India, PNB has a total business of around Rs 60,000 crore and wide presence with more than 910 branches as at the end of December 2011. Of this, West Bengal accounts for a business of over Rs 25000 crore with a credit deposit ratio of 76 percent as against CD ratio of the system at 65 percent with PNB having presence in all the 19 districts in the state.

PNB maintains its responsibility to act as an effective catalyst for socio-economic development of the nation by providing the necessary input of credit to the vital sectors of the economy. Towards this, bank has always surpassed the national goals in extending credit to the priority sector which stood over the national goals, he added.

The bank is also taking steps to further the cause of inclusive growth through our financial inclusion drive. Towards this, the bank has opened more than 77 lakh "No Frill" accounts of which West Bengal accounts for around 45,000 accounts, he informed.

In West Bengal, plans are on the anvil to cover more than 250 villages under financial inclusion plan, Mr Kamath informed.

Towards empowerment of the farmers and rural section including women, the bank has 34 PNB Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) and 10 Farmers' Training Centres (FTC). In West Bengal, PNB RSETI at Midnapur and FTC at Murshidabad, have been imparting free of cost training to entrepreneurs and farmers, he added.

He added that in future, PNB will continue its foray into the Eastern part of India by opening more branches and furthering its cause of inclusive growth by reaching out to the unbanked.

NEW DELHI,JAN 22 :
INDUSTRY body ASSOCHAM has called for restoring priority sector status for bank loans to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and said core investment companies (CICs) should be permitted to invest 10 per cent of the corpus in any scheme, including mutual funds.

The Reserve Bank of India's move to disallowed banks from classifying loans given to NBFCs as priority sector loans will significantly curtail credit flow and in turn curtail growth, it said.

A fine line needs to be drawn between genuine NBFCs involved in asset financing business and those specialising in other high-risk segments, said The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

"A substantial part of incremental NBFC lending has flowed to entities like IDFC, PFC, REC, IRFC and IIFCL which are also classified as NBFCs, while the balance has gone to other NBFCs which has perhaps weighed in favour of such a move by the RBI," said secretary general D S Rawat.

All asset finance companies in India have a wider reach and are best placed to lend to unorganised sectors, he said in communication to the Reserve Bank of India.
Under existing norms, NBFC-CICs are required to invest at least ten per cent of their investments in money market instruments. However, such CICs which do not have any deposits from the public or loans from banks may be permitted to invest in any scheme of mutual fund, including money market instruments.

The Chamber also called for clarity on definition of public funds and sought exemption from registration of their group CIC with the RBI where the group lending as well as borrowing companies have not raised or hold public funds.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 :
IN line with expectations, headline wholesale price index (WPI) inflation in December came in at 7.5 percent (Citi: 7.6 percent; consensus 7.4 per cent). The 160 basis points ( bps) drop in inflation over the 9.1percent print in November is due mainly to primary products inflation (weight of 20.1 percent) which slowed to 3.1 percent from 8.5 percent last month.

While the good monsoons have resulted in cereal prices remaining benign in the last few months, the sharp drop in December is attributed to the base effect which resulted in the index for fruits and vegetables (weight of 3.8 percent ) declining 15 percent v/s a 26 percent rise last year.

The index for both manufactured product inflation and fuel came off marginally to 7.4 percent and 14.9 percent respectively from 7.7 percent and 15.5 percent last month.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is likely to trend lower in the coming months, ending the fiscal year with a reading of ~7 percent .

Headline manufactured products inflation moderated to 7.4 percent from 7.7 percent last month.

Manufactured food product inflation eased to 6 percent from 6.8 percent , while the closely watched "non-food manufactured products inflation" – the RBI's proxy for 'core inflation'
reversed the uptrend seen in the last few months, moderating to 7.7 percent from 8 percent last month.

While this is positive, it's still way above the RBI's comfort zone of 4 percent .

Going forward, this component is likely to be influenced by the interplay between commodity
prices and the currency.

Those commodities continuing to post a y-o-y uptick include metals and alloys, non-metallic mineral products, beverages and tobacco.

Taking into the account the strong base effect, we expect headline inflation to continue to print lower in the 6.5 percent - to 7.8 percent range in the next few months v/s the 9 percent + levels seen over the last two years.

However, it is maintained that that headline inflation is likely to remain higher than the comfort zone of 4 percent -5 percent due to the structural factors impacting inflation and inter-play of commodity prices and currencies.

The view of the RBI easing rates by 100bps in 2012 is maintained. Odds of more aggressive cuts are rising due to the sharp slowdown in growth. However, the key is the 'timing' of the rate cuts.

With manufactured 'non-food' product inflation remaining elevated, we see higher odds of
the RBI commencing its easing cycle on the 'repo-rate' front in the March policy. This
would also give the RBI a clearer idea on govt finances for the upcoming fiscal given
that this would most likely be announced post the Union Budget.

However, on the CRR front, we see a strong case for easing in the January 24 policy, as liquidity conditions continue to remain tight. (Despite seven rounds of open market operations to the tune of Rs614bn, the RBI has been injecting liquidity to the tune of Rs1200 billion on a daily average basis). A caveat to this is recent statements by policymakers that 'lowering the CRR would be contradictory to the anti-inflationary stance'.

Food articles slowed to just 0.7 percent y-o-y from 8.5 percent y-o-y the previous month. This was on the back of a base effect coupled with an across-the-board moderation in
commodities.

While fruit and vegetables (largely onion prices) and wheat posted a contraction, pulses remained firm at 13.6 percent non-food articles moderated to 1.5 percent from 3.2 percent last month and double-digit trends earlier. This was due to prices of fibers posting a contraction. Mineral prices remained firm, up 22 percent .

The Fuel Index edged marginally lower. This was due to a moderation in mineral
oil prices, as market determined fuels, saw a deceleration across categories
(petrol, furnace oil, bitumen etc).

Aggregated manufactured non-food also eased to 7.7 percent from 8 percent last month. This was on the back of a moderation in textiles, machine tools, rubber and paper
products. However, prices of wood products, leather products, non metallic mineral products edged higher .

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 :
WITH inflation showing signs of moderation and velocity of exports increasing, industry body ASSOCHAM today called for 50 basis points reduction in repo rate to ease mounting cost of borrowings and at least one percentage point reduction in cash reserve ratio (CRR) to inject liquidity into the banking sector.

A one percentage point reduction in CRR could release Rs 56,000 crore and help fund viable projects held up due to liquidity crunch, it said ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary review on January 24.

At the same time, CRR as applicable to banks must carry two to three per cent interest to ease cost of funds, said The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

With food inflation now showing signs of cooling off, expectations of headline inflation coming below seven per cent by March have strengthened.

The recent movement in inflation numbers has also heightened expectations among policy watchers of a likely reversal of monetary policy cycle.

At the same time, concerns over growth are now taking centre-stage with the most recent numbers on GDP pointing towards slowing growth momentum, said ASSOCHAM secretary general D S Rawat.

The aggregate deposits of banks outstanding on October-end stood at Rs 56.38 lakh crore.

The CRR presently stands at six per cent. So one per cent or 100 basis points (bps) reduction in CRR will inject about Rs 56,000 crore in the banking sector.

The non-food credit has four main components – agriculture and allied activities, industry, services and personal loans. Gross bank credit extended to industry (micro, small, medium and large) outstanding as on November 18, 2011 was Rs 17.71 lakh crore as compared to Rs 14.65 lakh crore a year earlier.

In other words, scheduled commercial banks extended an additional credit of Rs 3.05 lakh crore to industry.

The benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) of the largest lender in the country – the State Bank of India – was 12.5 per cent on October 21, 2010 and went up to 14.75 per cent from August 13, 2011.

If this is an average rate at which corporates get money, then there has been an increase of nearly 225 basis points between October 2010 and November 2011 as there was no increase after the rate touched 14.75 per cent.

This increase of 225 basis points on an additional credit of Rs 3.05 lakh crore would have led to an additional interest burden on the industry of almost Rs 6,878 crore. Now if the RBI was to cut the repo rate by 50 bps and if the SBI follows the cue and cuts its prime lending rate by 50 bps, then the industry will save about Rs 1,528 crore in interest payments.

Giving even one per cent interest on CRR will release substantial relief by way of interest to the banking sector to counter growing borrowing costs.

"This is not a large amount as such and therefore a cut in repo rate at this juncture will be more symbolic and play on the sentiments. The real gains will be seen only when the cycle is completely reversed," added Mr Rawat.

On the other hand, release of CRR cut of Rs 56,000 crore can be absorbed very quickly by additional government borrowing programme of Rs 40,000 crore.

Besides, banks have put their funds into government securities more than they are required to.

Although the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) is 24 per cent, banks are keeping nearly five per cent over requirement and can draw funds using this excess amount. In fact, the RBI opened the marginal standing facility for banks to use this excess for borrowing money overnight.

Many banks have SLR of 27 per cent but still borrowing at liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) window as a lot of this is being invested in government securities. Since credit growth fuels growth, it is essential that funds flow into the economic activity. "We are also seeing that credit growth has significantly slackened as compared to the previous year," said Mr Rawat.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 11 :
THE Chairman and Managing of Punjab National Bank (PNB) , Mr K R Kamath, reiterated bank's commitment on participative and proactive vigilance.

He also emphasised on creating positive environment for working without fear and favour.

He applauded the proactive steps taken by vigilance department in this direction.

He was addressing a seminar of vigilance officers of PNB who attended the seminar throughout India.

Mr Rakesh Sethi and Mrs Usha Ananthasubramanian, Executive Directors also spoke on the proactive role played by vigilance department of the bank.

Chief Vigilance Officer, Mr Shiv Kumar Gupta highlighted the positive role played by the department i.e. training, seminars, magazines and other IT means to eradicate corruption in PNB and protecting the honest staff.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 07 :
THE pilot transaction under Credit Enhancement Scheme, a major initiative of Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), was launched here by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherje at a function held in North Block, New Delhi.

Under Credit enhancement, IIFCL in association with ADB, would provide credit rating enhancement to the bond issue programme of an infrastructure company to make it an eligible investment grade instrument mainly for long-term investors such as insurance companies and pension funds through extension of partial credit guarantee.

This would be a win-win product for all players in the financial market – the lenders, the investors, and the developers. It would help address twin constraints in bank lending viz. Asset-liability mismatch and prudential group and sectoral exposure norms and would simultaneously free up capital for creation of new assets.

The developer would also derive benefit from the scheme by way of reduction in interest cost, stability and certainty of debt obligations due to fixed rate of interest in place of floating interest rate of banks, and freeing up of exposure limits of banks on them.

The scheme would enable channelizing of long-term funds from fairly untapped resources such as insurance companies and pension funds to the infrastructure sector and would also help in development of corporate bond market in India.

To further support the financing of infrastructure projects and smoothen the availability of credit to them, an MoU was also signed among IIFCL, LIC of India and seven major public sector banks namely State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, and IDBI Bank, to create a financing mechanism for direct financing of infrastructure projects.

The financing mechanism created through MoU would enable developers to fast-track the achievement of financial closure and hence commence the construction of projects more quickly.

The mechanism would provide a single window to the developers to approach multiple lending institutions which would save time & money on appraisal and sanction of projects.
An MoU was also signed between IIFCL and HUDCO at the occasion to support initiatives for infrastructure financing in India through joint pooling of respective complimentary resources and expertise of both the organizations.

Speaking at the function, the Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee stressed the need for developing new instruments, like credit enhancement for providing increased financing for infrastructure projects in India.

He expressed that this alternative mechanism of fund availability to infrastructure project developers would go a long way in development of infrastructure bond market through creation of new class of investors like insurance companies and pension funds.

This would also free up banks capital from financing new projects. The Finance Minister also lauded the efforts and initiatives of IIFCL, LIC of India, HUDCO and seven major public sector banks on coming together to create a mechanism to facilitate faster and smoother availability of funds to infrastructure sector in India.

IIFCL in 6 years has sanctioned approximately Rs. 46851 crore in 231 projects (including IIFC(UK)) with pre-eminent focus on PPP projects.

Mr D K Mittal, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (MoF) appreciated the banks, LIC, HUDCO and IIFCL for providing a new facilitation and financing mechanism for infrastructure developers and also lauded the launch of first pilot transaction under Credit Enhancement Scheme of IIFCL.

Mr S K. Goel, Chairman and Managing Director, IIFCL, proposed vote of thanks to Finance Minister and senior government officials, senior bankers, infrastructure project developers and other dignitaries.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 06 :
PUNJAB National Bank has won Skoch Financial Inclusion Award – 2012 under "Access to banking and Financial Services" category for its Jana Mitra Rickshaw Scheme by the Skoch Development Foundation.

The award was given by Dr C Rangarajan, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Ms Usha Ananthasubramanian, Executive Director, received the award on behalf of the bank.

The Janamitra Rickshaw Scheme of the bank is an attempt in this direction and has been designed to help the vast number of Rickshaw pullers operating in our cities.

The scheme aims at addressing three basic issues of availability of a good quality rickshaw, cheap finance to the beneficiaries and support for maintenance of the rickshaw.

PNB Janamitra scheme is designed to provide need -based finance on easy terms and conditions and covers cost of rickshaw, uniform for the rickshaw puller, municipal license fee for two years and premium for life and health insurance for three years.

Approximately 10000 rickshaw pullers in 25 different cities have been covered under the scheme. It has helped in improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries considerably. Some of the rickshaw pullers over a period of time have acquired multiple rickshaws.

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 05 :
AS part of slew of initiatives to take forward corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda of the bank and strengthening social ties with the society Mrs Pushpa Kamath, president of the PNB Prerna, an association of the wives of the senior management of Punjab National Bank (PNB ) and Mr K R Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director , PNB served food to the less privileged of the society at Saraswath Sanskriti Bhawan, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi.

This initiative is also intended to boost CSR activities to bring improvement in the lives of the needy persons.

The Sanskriti Bhavan is surrounded by people who live below the poverty line, and the Samaj has taken up the task of providing one sumptuous meal a week to these poor and distressed people.

The Anna Dan Sewa attracted more than 1500 people from the nearby slum areas (especially small children, rickshaw pullers, daily wage employees and family etc) who got benefited from this sewa.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 02 :
PUNJAB National Bank (PNB) has launched 'Current Deposit Campaign' beginning January 02 , 2012 till end of March 2012.

The bank is all set to render more personalized service through its New scheme 'PNB Smart Banking Current Account' with four variants PNB Silver, PNB Gold, PNB Diamond & PNB Platinum customized to the needs of different customer segments.

While the minimum initial deposit is same at Rs 5000 in all the four variants the concessions , that is , free cheque leaves, RTGS/NEFT charges, cash deposit/withdrawal charges, inter-sol transfer transactions, instant credit of outstation cheques, free collection of outstation cheques, POS machine installation are progressively different based upon the minimum quarterly average balance.

In two such variants , that is, PNB Diamond and PNB Platinum most of the services are offered free of charges. Branches of the bank will gear up to equip customers of the bank about the bundle of cash, collection and remittance facilities available to the Current Account customers.

The bank also provides doorstep cash collection service to facilitate movement of cash for current account customers. These customers will also benefit from the wide spectrum of wealth management services of the bank, e.g., insurance, mutual funds, gold coins, demat services, online trading of shares and lot more enabled through state of the art technology like World Travel, Uphaar and Suvidha Cards.

The announcement was made by Dr P Nandagopal, Managing Director & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance. Mr. Chandan Khasnobis, Chief Actuary, IndiaFirst Life Insurance, Mr Kamalakar Sai, Chief Distribution Officer, IndiaFirst Life Insurance and Mr. M. A. Salam, Chairman, Vidharbha Kshetriya Gramin Bank were also present at the occasion.

The insurable population of the functional area in Maharashtra is about 1 crore from which the company expects to cover nearly 1,00,000 accounts in a time frame of 3 years. Through this tie-up with Vidharbha Kshetriya Gramin Bank, IndiaFirst will reach over 100 branches across five districts.
Dr Nandagopal said, "It gives me great pleasure to announce our tie-up with Vidharbha Kshetriya Gramin Bank. We believe that the rural market plays a very instrumental role in the Indian insurance sector and more particularly in our business. Thus insuring the wider populace that lives in the rural sector of the country in a long term business like ours will be a game changer in an emerging economy."

IndiaFirst is already present in Maharashtra through over 455 branches of Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank with Maharashtra contributing approximately 12 percent of its total business.

"We are keen on spreading protection to the five districts of Maharashtra i.e Akola,Amaravati,Wasim, Buldana and Yavatmal through the Saving and Loan accounts of Vidharbha Kshetriya Gramin Bank. We want to ensure that all the account holders in the next 3 - 5 years, which will amount to over Rs. 10 crore by then, have insurance cover and are protected by us" said Mr Salam.

Vidharbha Kshetriya Gramin Bank launched the Group Term Plan today which provides a life cover of Rs 1 lakh for mere 70 paise a day (i.e., Rs. 264 per year). It also launched Group Credit Life Insurance to cover home loan, personal loan and educational loan for its existing and as well as new loan customers.

Dr Nandagopal further added, "This new tie-up will help us serve our customers in rural areas in a better and effective way. While there is a mad rush by all to serve the urban populace, people in the rural areas are still a neglected lot. There is an urgent need in the country to not only taking financial services to the rural populace but also to make them financially literate for true development to take place."

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 27 :
AGAINST the backdrop of deregulation of interest rates on Non-Resident (External) Rupee (NRE) Deposits by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and subsequent market developments Punjab National Bank (PNB) has decided to offer 9.25 percent interest on NRE term deposits with maturity period ranging from 1 year to 5 years.

The revised deposit rates will apply only to fresh deposits and on renewal of maturing deposits with effect from January 01, 2012.

The rates of interest on Non Resident Ordinary (NRO) term deposits have already been aligned with that of the domestic term deposits.

PNB Prerna takes up CSR activities to bring improvement in the lives of the needy persons.

The Delhi Cheshire Home is a non-profit charitable organisation with a mission to provide a quality living environment for individuals with physical and mental disabilities.

The function ended with performance of cultural event by the persons of the home on the occasion.

Cheque truncation system was started by RBI on July 01 , .2009 as a pilot project in Delhi.

The Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of Punjab National Bank (PNB) Mr Shiv Kumar Gupta taking cognizance of increasing menace of frauds taking place under ‘Cheque Truncation System’ (CTS) organized a meeting of senior officers of leading banks in Delhi.

The conference, first of its kind was attended by 44 senior officers from 17 banks including SBI, OBC, BOI, UBI, UCO, Andhra, Canara, Syndicate, BOB, IOB, CBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis bank. FGM of PNB Mr SR Sharma welcomed the participants.

Mr Suryanarayanan, GM of OBC, and Mr Rajiv Kohli, DGM-SBI and Mr Bhupesh Aggarwal of ICICI shared their views and appreciated the efforts made by PNB to bring the Delhi Bankers together to fight the frauds.

The bankers discussed the ground rules for Collecting Bank’s Responsibility for ‘due diligence and Paying Bank’s duties and passed a resolution on the role of banks to contain the menace. They also decided to take up with RBI for providing specific / separate guidelines on reporting of frauds under CTS and other related issues.

During the week senior executives of the bank shall be visiting selected branches to assess the level of customer service rendered by branches and they shall also meet the customers to seek their valuable suggestions for improving the quality of service.

During this period customers will be contacted either over a telephonic call, a get together or a personal visit to their places to give them a feel of being cared. Bank also plans to contact the inoperative account holders to activate the old relationships. Thus the Customer Contact week shall be utilized for refreshing, recharging and reconnecting with the customers.

The visiting officials will check up compliance of KYC (Know Your Customer) norms including those for small deposit accounts, smoothness in process of account opening, sanction of loans etc. This is intended to ensure feedback on quality of service and customers' expectations.

The bank expects this contact programme to bring about further perceptible improvement in the area of customer service and also consolidate its efforts put in during the savings deposit campaign between August 1, .2011 to September 30 ,.2011, in which more than new 20 lakh savings fund accounts were opened within a period of two months.

Customers are requested to send their feedback/suggestions either in the branches or through email for which link is available on public domain website www.pnbindia.in.

The bank also celebrated the Anti Corruption Day on Friday ( December 9) , which is designated as International Anti Corruption Day by the United Nations, with a view to fighting the menace of corruption collectively and eradicating the same through vigil and alertness throughout India .

Branches were visited, seminars were organised to educate the staff of the bank during the week. The main function was held at Head Office of PNB at New Delhi presided over by Chief Vigilance Officer Mr Shiv Kumar Gupta, who advocated educating the staff against the evil effects of corruption.

Mr Shiv Kumar Gupta, Chief Vigilance Officer, PNB alongwith other senior officials of the bank observing Anti Corruption Day at PNB's Corporate Office, Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 05 :
A credit camp was organized by Punjab National Bank (PNB ) at Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh as part of its Special Agriculture Credit Campaign 2011 in India up to December 31 , 2011.

The camp was inaugurated by Mrs Usha Ananthasubramanian, Executive Director, Punjab National Bank (PNB) . Mr G. Banerjee, General Manager, Mr B.P. Ray, Field General Manager, Punjab National Bank, Mr V K Sharma, Circle Head, Bulandshahr, Punjab National Bank and the District Magistrate, Bulandshahr were also present on the occasion.

The bank disbursed loans of Rs 30 crore to more than 2600 farmers who attended the camp.
Mrs Ananthasubramanian said that PNB has so far opened 117823 fresh accounts from October 15, 2011 to November 30,.2011 and disbursed agriculture loans amounting to Rs 1024 crore.

She also informed that the Govt. of India has advised the banks to extend credit to all eligible farmers/ non-farmers by way of Kisan Credit Card/ General Credit Card and to complete the process by December 15 ,.2011.

On this occasion, the bank also formally launched its Kisan ATM Card which would now be available in India and would be providing hassle free credit to the farmers.

The bank has also introduced biometric-enabled card for illiterate farmers. The Kisan ATM Cards will be available to Kisan Credit Card holders of the bank who can withdraw cash from their account through the ATMs and can also make payments for purchase of farm inputs at POS terminals. This will enable the farmers to operate their account without physically going to the branch.

Interest rates on NRE Rupee Term Deposit from. December 01, 2011
(Interest in % terms p.a.)
1 year & above but less than 2 years					3.82		(3.69)
2 years & above but less than 3 years					3.51		(3.36)
3 years only					3.64		(3.52)
Figures in brackets indicate existing rates effective from November 24, 2011.

Interest rates on FCNR(B) / RFC Term Deposit w.e.f December 01, 2011
(Interest in % terms p.a.)
Maturity Period	US$	GBP	EURO	CA$		AU$
1 year & above but less than 2 years	2.32	3.07	3.26	2.98		6.13
	(2.19)	(3.01)	(3.33)	(2.96)		(6.27)
2 years & above but less than 3 years	2.01	2.68	2.72	2.40		5.03
	(1.86)	(2.62)	(2.80)	(2.43)		(5.53)
3 years & above but less than 4 years	2.14	2.73	2.89	2.51		5.16
	(2.02)	(2.75)	(2.93)	(2.60)		(5.62)
4 years & above but less than 5 years	2.35	2.84	3.11	2.65		5.43
	(2.30)	(2.94)	(3.10)	(2.78)		(5.87)
5 years only	2.59	2.95	3.34	2.80		5.59
	(2.62)	(3.14)	(3.29)	(2.97)		(6.00)
Figures in brackets indicate existing rates effective from November 24, 2011.

Currency	1 yr.< 2 yrs	2 yrs < 3 yrs	3 yrs < 4 yrs	4 yrs < 5 yrs	5 Years only
US$	2.32	2.01	2.14	2.35	2.59
GBP	3.07	2.68	2.73	2.84	2.95
EURO	3.26	2.72	2.89	3.11	3.34
JPY	1.81	1.67	1.69	1.73	1.80
CA$	2.98	2.40	2.51	2.65	2.80
AU$	6.13	5.03	5.16	5.43	5.59

The MoU was signed in the presence of Mri A.K. Dutt, Executive Director, Dena Bank at a function held in Mumbai.

The MoU was signed by M. K. Sharma, General Manager, Dena Bank and K. Srinivasan, vice president, TVS Motor in the presence of Mr Ashok Dutt Executive Director, Dena Bank.
Mr A.K. Dutt said MoU will help the bank increase its finance to priority sector advances besides achieving the social objective of the bank to provide collateral free loan to micro and small enterprises in India.

Dena Bank will provide loan upto 90 percent of the cost of vehicle (on road) to eligible borrowers on merits for purchase of TVS 3 wheeler passenger auto rickshaws at a very attractive rate of interest.

TVS Motor with this tieup will be able to increase market share especially in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, where Dena Bank has strong presence.

On the day of signing of MoU, Dena Bank has given in-principle clearance for 101 proposals for purchase of TVS ‘King’ 3 wheelers.

The assessment of the performance for the awards of the most socially responsive bank consist of growth score in priority sector advances and total agriculture advances and reach and delivery score.

Also for the first time it incorporated customers' views for arriving at the final ranking. PNB amongst the pack attained the top slot in reach score.

With a 117 year long tradition in sound and prudent banking and over 68 million satisfied customers, the bank has always shown commitments towards fulfilling the national goals in lending towards priority sectors, maintaining the highest standards of service, professional excellence and integrity in the banking service.

Bank's social responsibility programmes are anchored in the commitment to supporting inclusive and sustainable growth by providing viable financial solutions to the cross-section of the people.
While, the bank is providing full support to development of agriculture, medium and small scale industry, women empowerment and financial inclusion, it is facilitating rural development through various interventions like educating farmers on progressive agricultural practices, imparting entrepreneurial skills for self-employment and increasing financial literacy amongst the population.

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Interest rates on NRE Rupee Term Deposit from. December 01, 2011

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